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FCC head defends Internet neutrality rules on the roadThe head of the Federal Communications Commission is taking the defense of new Internet regulations on the road.http://phys.org/news344613998.html
TechnologyTue, 03 Mar 2015 14:06:44 ESTnews344613998Study finds female entrepreneurs are discounted because of their genderStarting a new business is challenging under the best of circumstances, but for female entrepreneurs, the uphill battle can be particularly steep.http://phys.org/news344613954.html
Other SciencesTue, 03 Mar 2015 14:06:01 ESTnews344613954Real estate bidding wars aren't going awayFrenzy, frustration and disappointment are what home buyers have come to dread about real estate bidding wars.http://phys.org/news344613893.html
Other SciencesTue, 03 Mar 2015 14:04:59 ESTnews344613893Pre-1950 structures suffered the most damage from August 2014 Napa quakeAn analysis of buildings tagged red and yellow by structural engineers after the August 2014 earthquake in Napa links pre-1950 buildings and the underlying sedimentary basin to the greatest shaking damage, according to one of six reports on the Napa quake published in the March/April issue of Seismological Research Letters (SRL).http://phys.org/news344607509.html
EarthTue, 03 Mar 2015 14:00:10 ESTnews344607509Far from home: Wayward cluster is both tiny and distantLike the lost little puppy that wanders too far from home, astronomers have found an unusually small and distant group of stars that seems oddly out of place. The cluster, made of only a handful of stars, is located far away, in the Milky Way's "suburbs." It is located where astronomers have never spotted such a small cluster of stars before.http://phys.org/news344607447.html
Astronomy & SpaceTue, 03 Mar 2015 14:00:03 ESTnews344607447Researchers discover new material to produce clean energyResearchers at the University of Houston have created a new thermoelectric material, intended to generate electric power from waste heat - from a vehicle tailpipe, for example, or an industrial smokestack - with greater efficiency and higher output power than currently available materials.http://phys.org/news344613468.html
PhysicsTue, 03 Mar 2015 13:57:55 ESTnews344613468Study finds lasting severe weather impact in feathers of young birdsWhile studying a ground-nesting bird population near El Reno, Okla., a University of Oklahoma-led research team found that stress during a severe weather outbreak of May 31, 2013, had manifested itself into malformations in the growing feathers of the young birds. The team witnessed a phenomenon termed 'pallid bands' in a large proportion of fledgling Grasshopper Sparrows and found spikes in the chemical signatures of 'pallid bands,' which led to abnormalities in the new feathers.http://phys.org/news344613336.html
BiologyTue, 03 Mar 2015 13:55:52 ESTnews344613336Silicon Valley no-poaching deal appears headed for approvalAside from a few "nits," a federal judge appeared poised on Monday to sign off on a $415 million settlement that would end a five-year legal battle over alleged illegal hiring practices in Silicon Valley.http://phys.org/news344610994.html
TechnologyTue, 03 Mar 2015 13:50:01 ESTnews344610994Nimoy inspired generations of sci-fi fansFor generations who've grown up on science fiction, not loving Leonard Nimoy was—as his Mr. Spock might say—highly illogical.http://phys.org/news344610818.html
Other SciencesTue, 03 Mar 2015 13:13:44 ESTnews344610818The origins of polarized nervous systems(Phys.org)—There is no mistaking the first action potential you ever fired. It was the one that blocked all the other sperm from stealing your egg. After that, your spikes only got more interesting. Waves of calcium flooding the jointly-forged cell stiffened its glycoprotein-enhanced walls against all other suitors and kicked off the developmental program ultimately responsible for constructing your brain. Unlike the nervous systems of the lower forms of life, our neurons have a clearly polarized form—a single output axon projecting far to parts unknown is charged by input dendrites feeding on the local metabolic soup de jour. The origins of this polarity in neurons, and therefore in nervous systems in general, are written in the primitive body plans of the mostly gelatinous organisms still hailing intact across deep time.http://phys.org/news344607670.html
BiologyTue, 03 Mar 2015 13:00:01 ESTnews344607670Supreme Court allows challenge to Colorado Internet tax lawA unanimous Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that federal courts can hear a dispute over Colorado's Internet tax law. One justice suggested it was time to reconsider the ban on state collection of sales taxes from companies outside their borders.http://phys.org/news344609913.html
TechnologyTue, 03 Mar 2015 12:59:24 ESTnews344609913New incubator network to help clean-energy entrepreneursThe Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) have launched the Clean Energy Incubator Network. The program, funded by the Energy Department, aims to improve the performance of clean energy business incubators, connect critical industry and energy sector partners, and advance clean energy technologies emerging from universities and federal laboratories.http://phys.org/news344606910.html
TechnologyTue, 03 Mar 2015 12:08:38 ESTnews344606910A new level of earthquake understandingAs everyone who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area knows, the Earth moves under our feet. But what about the stresses that cause earthquakes? How much is known about them? Until now, our understanding of these stresses has been based on macroscopic approximations. Now, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is reporting the successful study of stress fields along the San Andreas fault at the microscopic scale, the scale at which earthquake-triggering stresses originate.http://phys.org/news344606800.html
EarthTue, 03 Mar 2015 12:07:12 ESTnews344606800Understanding electric car 'range anxiety' could be key to wider acceptanceManufacturers of battery electric vehicles, or BEVs, have increased their offerings in response to rising consumer concerns over gas prices and the environment. Drivers have been slow to adopt BEVs due to "range anxiety," the fear of becoming stranded with an empty battery. This phenomenon was recently addressed in a study published in Human Factors that aims to explain range anxiety and determine whether hands-on BEV experience can reduce drivers' stress.http://phys.org/news344606691.html
TechnologyTue, 03 Mar 2015 12:04:59 ESTnews344606691Game Developers Conference offers creators a sporting chanceWith tens of millions of gamers now regularly spectating video games online and in real-world arenas, game developers looking to create the next "StarCraft" or "League of Legends" might learn a few lessons at this year's Game Developers Conference.http://phys.org/news344605843.html
TechnologyTue, 03 Mar 2015 11:50:49 ESTnews344605843New AAHA/AAFP pain management guidelines for dogs and cats now availableThe robust advances in pain management for companion animals underlie the decision of the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) and the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) to expand on the information provided in the previous 2007 AAHA/AAFP Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats. The 2015 Guidelines represent a consensus of expert opinions that summarize and offer a discriminating review of new research and knowledge. To access the Guidelines, visit: http://www.catvets.com/guidelines/practice-guidelines/pain-management-guidelines.http://phys.org/news344605118.html
BiologyTue, 03 Mar 2015 11:38:46 ESTnews344605118Flower-like magnetic nanoparticles target difficult tumorsThanks to the work of an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the Dartmouth Center of Nanotechnology Excellence, funded by the National Institutes of Health, the next-generation magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) may soon be treating deep-seated and difficult-to-reach tumors within the human body.http://phys.org/news344605001.html
NanotechnologyTue, 03 Mar 2015 11:36:54 ESTnews344605001Researchers evaluate mosquitoes' ability to float on water in order to potentially design aquatic robotsSmall semi-aqueous arthropods, such as mosquitoes and water striders, are free to go about their waterborne business thanks to their unique leg-based adaptations, which repel water and allow them to float freely on the surface.http://phys.org/news344604917.html
TechnologyTue, 03 Mar 2015 11:35:31 ESTnews344604917Step change for screening could boost biofuelsResearchers at the Institute of Food Research have developed a new way of rapidly screening yeasts that could help produce more sustainable biofuels.http://phys.org/news344602400.html
BiologyTue, 03 Mar 2015 10:53:30 ESTnews344602400Study shows one reason why pigeons so rarely crash(Phys.org)—A pair of researchers with Harvard University has uncovered one of the secrets behind pigeons' impressive flight abilities. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, David Williams and Andrew Biewener describe how they videotaped some of the birds flying through an obstacle course they made, and what they found when they examined the footage.http://phys.org/news344601188.html
BiologyTue, 03 Mar 2015 10:33:19 ESTnews344601188Plants detect bacterial endotoxin in similar process to mammalsSimilar to humans and animals, plants possess an innate immune system that protects them from invading pathogens. Molecular structures that only occur in pathogens enable their recognition and trigger the immune response. Lipopolysaccharide (endotoxin) is one such substance, occurring in the outer membrane of certain bacteria. A team of scientists from Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) and the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB) in Halle has now described the first endotoxin immunosensor in plants.http://phys.org/news344600688.html
BiologyTue, 03 Mar 2015 10:24:54 ESTnews344600688Can we track the world's nuclear weapons?The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has unveiled an interactive infographic that tracks the number and history of nuclear weapons in the nine nuclear weapon states: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea. The Nuclear Notebook Interactive Infographic is designed to provide a visual representation of the Bulletin's famed Nuclear Notebook, which since 1987 has tracked the number and type of the world's nuclear arsenals.http://phys.org/news344600619.html
TechnologyTue, 03 Mar 2015 10:23:51 ESTnews344600619Unified theory for skyrmion-materialsMagnetic vortex structures, so-called skyrmions, could in future store and process information very efficiently. They could also be the basis for high-frequency components. For the first time, a team of physicists succeeded in characterizing the electromagnetic properties of insulating, semiconducting and conducting skyrmion-materials and developed a unified theoretical description of their behavior. This lays the foundation for future electronic components with purpose-designed properties.http://phys.org/news344600416.html
PhysicsTue, 03 Mar 2015 10:20:22 ESTnews344600416Egypt unearths 3000-year-old tomb in southern cityEgypt's Ministry of Antiquities says American archeologists have discovered a 3000-year-old tomb with beautifully painted walls belonging to a nobleman who guarded the temple of the ancient deity Amun.http://phys.org/news344598125.html
Other SciencesTue, 03 Mar 2015 10:20:01 ESTnews344598125Precise dating of ancient charcoal found near a skull is helping reveal a unique period in prehistoryA partial human skull unearthed in 2008 in northern Israel may hold some clues as to when and where humans and Neanderthals might have interbred. The key to addressing this, as well as other important issues, is precisely determining the age of the skull. A combination of dating methods, one of them performed by Dr. Elisabetta Boaretto, head of the Weizmann Institute's D-REAMS (DANGOOR Research Accelerator Mass Spectrometry) laboratory, has made it possible to define the period of time that the cave was occupied and thus the skull's age. The combined dating provides evidence that Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis could have lived side by side in the area.http://phys.org/news344600207.html
Other SciencesTue, 03 Mar 2015 10:16:53 ESTnews344600207Automakers vow not to give up on weak-selling electricsTop automakers are vowing not to give up on weak-selling electric vehicles—even as they unveil an array of powerful luxury cars with conventional engines aimed at a growing global market.http://phys.org/news344597581.html
TechnologyTue, 03 Mar 2015 10:00:05 ESTnews344597581Simulations suggests cutting rainforests in mid and high latitudes can impact rainfall in northern hemisphere(Phys.org)—A trio of researchers with the Indian Institute of Science has found, via computer simulation, that deforestation in one part of the world can impact rainfall patterns in another. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Abhishek Devaraju, Govindasamy Bala and Angshuman Modak describe the experiments they conducted with their models and what their findings may mean for real world deforestation.http://phys.org/news344598236.html
EarthTue, 03 Mar 2015 10:00:01 ESTnews344598236Emerging world drives cheap smartphone boomPhone and Internet firms are rolling out cheaper handsets and may turn to hot-air balloons to boost network coverage in developing countries, where sales of smartphones are booming.http://phys.org/news344597525.html
TechnologyTue, 03 Mar 2015 09:50:02 ESTnews344597525Apple edges Samsung, retakes smartphone throne: surveyApple overtook Samsung to regain the top position in global smartphone sales in the fourth quarter, a market tracker said Tuesday.http://phys.org/news344598097.html
TechnologyTue, 03 Mar 2015 09:42:00 ESTnews344598097Finding a job may be the hardest nut for a new scientist to crackThe typical biography of a scientist might look something like this.http://phys.org/news344596774.html
Other SciencesTue, 03 Mar 2015 09:40:01 ESTnews344596774